Moonshadow
by Sylla
Summary: She is gazing at the moonshadows on the water's surface when he finds her. A quiet moment between a Senior Secretary and a Governor. Mild KijinxShuurei, post-first season.


A CHALLENGER APPROACHES!

(Hee, just kidding.) Inspiration struck at – literally – 1:30am last night (this morning?), and I just had to scribble this down. Because I still like it a day later, it goes up!

So this is my first SaiMono fanfic. There are a couple of things I need to say: firstly, I've only seen up to episode 11 of Season Two of the anime (so no spoilers, please!) so my knowledge of SaiMono isn't exactly encyclopedic. Please forgive any errors. Secondly, because this is my first SaiMono fic ever, the characterization might be a little fuzzy. Feel free to call me out on anything you feel is truly OOC.

Anyway, that's the technical stuff out of the way. So. As much as I adore RyuukixShuurei (and it's a lot) I also really like KijinxShuurei. (Blame a certain thunderstorm scene for that, oh ho.) Ioknow, I guess I just really like the concept of 'older, mysterious/serious man plus younger, innocent/cheerful girl' pairings. Ultimately, inspiration struck for a KijinxShuurei fic rather than a RyuukixShuurei fic, so what the heck.

One last thing. Despite the title, this fic has nothing to do with the song with the same name by Cat Stevens. Just thought I'd mention.

**Warnings:** KijinxShuurei. Mild spoilers for the first season of SaiMono, especially up to episode 9; trace amounts of fluff.

**Disclaimer:** I do not claim to own the rights to Saiunkoku Monogatari in any way, shape or form; nor am I making any profit whatsoever from the writing of this piece of fanfiction.

* * *

**Saiunkoku Monogatari**

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---:::---

_Moonshadow_

* * *

It is almost midnight, he knows, when he comes across her.

She has been bustling to and fro about the palace and the city every since she came back from the Sa Province; the only time he remembers having seen her relax is during that dinner-party in the archives. However, right now she is standing at the edge of one of the inter-building walkways, hands folded delicately over the wooden railing, watching the way the moon's reflection makes light and shadows on the water below.

He has the immediate sensation he has trespassed upon something private, a feeling proved justified when he takes a step forward and she starts.

"A-ah, Senior Secretary Ko," she smiles sweetly, a slight blush spreading across her cheeks, and he is glad of his mask. Ever since a certain incident during a summer thunderstorm confirmed his suspicions that the newest pageboy in the department had some… _interesting_ characteristics, he found himself paying more attention to her smiles. For all that the sight of his true face mesmerizes most people, Shuurei's smiles have exactly the same effect on him, and he's wondered more than once how others seem to be so immune to them.

But even as he is grateful to his mask for hiding the no doubt ridiculous expression on his face, he also hates it. Because the masks he wears must surely color whatever other impressions she might have had of him, destroying any chance of him ever appearing in her mind as anything other than the eccentric, cold, demanding, thoroughly _odd_ Senior Secretary of the Department of Treasury and Taxation. This he regrets, rather more than he would like.

He wishes he could show her his face, but he wishes even more that he could know she would be unaffected. A sweet dream, that.

A long silence has passed between them, but he does not realize this until she breaks it.

"Um…" she says hesitantly. "Well, I should go–"

She turns to leave, but before she can take a step he catches her hand, unwittingly emulating the actions of a certain member of royalty, almost two years ago.

The moonshadows sway across the surface of the pond as he says, softly, "Don't feel obliged to leave because of me. It wasn't my intention to intrude upon your privacy."

She immediately shakes her head, vigorously.

"Ah – no, no!" she disclaims, raising her free hand. "It's just that I realized I was spacing out, and… er. Senior Secretary Ko…" she continues, voice small.

"Yes?"

"My – my hand…" A blush has once again stolen across her cheeks, and he realizes he still holds her slim, delicate hand in his own.

With a barely audible "Ah" of surprise – and embarrassment? – he drops her hand like a hot coal. Well. This… certainly was not supposed to have happened.

She is now staring determinedly at the ground somewhere near his right foot, and for all his reputation for being unflappable, he knows he is blushing like a schoolboy underneath his mask (which now feels almost unbearably claustrophobic, ten years of experience be damned). If Reishin could see them now…

Well, no; he amends the half-formed thought. If it were any _other_ woman and Reishin could see them now, he'd be in gales of mirth. But given that it is not 'any other woman' standing before him, if Reishin could see them now he'd probably go up in flames and accuse him of trying to steal _his_ precious niece, before forbidding him (for the umpteenth time) from ever approaching her again… but that is very much beside the point.

What is more germane to the problem at hand is that he has suddenly realized _how close they are._

"Well, I – I really should be going now." She looks off to one side, clearly mortified. "I have a lot of work to do…"

A sudden, irresistible impulse seizes him, and before he can give it a second thought – or even a first, really – he raises his hand to her face, fingertips trailing down her cheek, just barely brushing the edge of her lips – her eyes snap to his face, wide with surprise.

Then he withdraws his hand and, as silent as the moonshadows on the water, brushes past her.

And, as he leaves, she is not the only one wondering what he meant by that touch.

* * *

My author's notes are way too long, seriously. *facepalm* Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my first foray into the SaiMono fandom. Depending on the reception this gets, I may post a follow-up and make this into a twoshot. Hmm...

Ah, also. I couldn't resist putting in that Reishin fragment in the middle there. I adore him, really; he's hilarious and pwnsome all in one, and I squee at his appearances far more than is really healthy. :D

Edit 12/14/09: Got confuzzled and misspelled Kijin's last name as Kou, which I'm sure rendered the whole thing somewhat silly. Oopsie.


End file.
